Sureshot
by diagonallyfunny
Summary: "Kanaya did in fact know that she needed to stop forcing Karkat into social situations in the same manner that you would force a cat into a body of water, but it was inevitable, and besides, she'd been doing it since high school. He couldn't really fight back now." This is a multi chapter story that will include many different pairings, kinda for fun. Updated when possible.
1. Intro

Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck, I don't own Never Been Kissed, and however unfortunate it may be, I don't own Yellowcard. (Sureshot is their song)

Kanaya groaned loudly in protest of what her friend was suggesting. This wasn't happening, uh-uh, no, she HATED parties. Honesty, she would probably prefer to stay home and read with maybe a cup of tea or talk to Karkat for awhile and watch romcoms, but she also knew Vriska would never let that happen. Speaking of which, she should probably tune back into whatever Vriska had been ranting about for the past 5 minutes or so.

"-and that is my withstanding argument on why you should attend the fabulous and amazing party I will be hosting this night. Seriously though Kanaya, if you don't come, I'm probably going to die. I'm not even joking, like, Eridan is coming and I hate him **so fucking much** I may just attempt murder and then if I do I'm pretty sure the death penalty is LEGAL in this state and what if I died Kanaya!?

The girl in question gave a heavy sigh. At the moment she wouldn't mind an excuse to shut Vriska up…but no, though she entertained the thought at times, Vriska and Eridan dying probably wouldn't be for the best. Oh well.

In reality, it had been quite a long since she'd gone out and done anything at all, and she needed to answer her annoying friend before she started monologuing. Again.

"Honestly Vriska, I Don't Know Why Youre Always So Adamant About Me Attending Your Parties, But I Will Grace You` With My Presence-"

Vriska couldn't help but smirk there and she knew it.

"-On One Condition. I Am Allowed To Bring Karkat."

She could see the indignation rising in Vriska's eyes, and she needed an alibi for her statement, fast.

"Simply Because Hes Alone All Of The Time Vriska! What If He Managed To Meet Someone Or…"

Kanaya did in fact know that she needed to stop forcing Karkat into social situations in the same manner that you would force a cat into a body of water, but it was inevitable, and besides, she'd been doing it since high school. He couldn't really fight back now and GODDAMNIT was Vriska really feeling inclined to give a speech again?! She could rival Martin Luther King at this point.

Unfortunately, Vriska's speeches leaned towards less productive content like not leaving toothpaste in the sink and why people should never wear skin colored leggings.

She loved the girl in the most platonic way possible, but having her as a roommate could be tirelessly exhausting. To be completely honest, she did used to have a pretty bad crush on Vriska, but that had died along with their dorm pet, a rather unfortunate feline. The poor thing wasn't fed when she left for a week, and it was Vriska's job. She honestly had no idea why this would kill (hehe) her more, erm, non-platonic feelings, but it did the job nicely. Maybe something to do with children?

Actually, Vriska still owed her one for covering that up. Oh, speak of the devil, she's talking again. Jeez, they really have to work on that.

"-but if you reaaaaaaaally feel the inclination to bring that drag along-

-He Is Not A Drag Vriska!-

-whatever, my point still stands Maryam. _As I was saying,_ you can bring him if you must."

Kanaya smiled at Vriska, mentally planning on how in the world she was going to actually CONVINCE Karkat to come with her.

* * *

-Time skip presented to you by the gods of This Part Would Be Incredibly Damn Boring Trust Me-

* * *

Actually, it didn't turn out to be that hard.

Well, hard for Karkat's standards. If you didn't count the mild scratched she now had from trying to pull him out of the pitiful pile of blankets and ramen that was Karkat's bed and the incredibly cliche plot from the rom com he was watching that was now lodged in her brain, it went ridiculously well.

He later informed her it was something along the lines of Never Been..Kissed? Yes, she believed it was in fact Never Been Kissed that he was watching. Maybe it was Kanaya's problem, actually. She seemed to be a really bad listener lately.

Or maybe her friends just talked too much.

Yeah, that was probably it. Or she would just say it was. Presently, her and Karkat were on their way to the location Vriska had given her over text. "Apartment 11954 in the Wonder Wall apartment building on 6th" it had said. She double-checked, unsure that someone had actually named an entire building after a 90s song. Unfortunately, she was right.

She could hear Karkat muttering behind her, so Kanaya turned around to see what he was saying. She wasn't disappointed, he was always true to himself if anything.

Apparently, he had been trying to glare a hole in her back. She hadn't felt it. An angry pause filled the silence, but she tried to smile. She was actua-

"NO."

Karkat cut her thoughts off abruptly, but she couldn't really figure out why. Well, other than the party but...

"What, Karkat? The Party? It'll Be Fine, I'm Sure You'll Meet New People, And It Really Is Good For You To Get Out! Personally, I'm Rather Excited For It, And-"

"KANAYA, PLEASE STOP RAMBLING. I REALLY DON'T THINK YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I HATE PEOPLE. THE ONLY ONE I CAN ACTUALLY STAND IS YOU, AND OCCASIONALLY GAMZEE AND SOLLUX. VERY RARELY TEREZI. _VERY RARELY._ THERE WILL AN UNFATHOMABLE AMOUNT OF DOUCHE CANOES IN THERE. I DO NOT WANT TO DROWN IN THE RIDICULOUSLY DEEP WATERS SURROUNDING THEIR DOUCHEY-NESS, BECAUSE I WILL REFUSE TO JUMP ON IN WITH THEM."

Kanaya sighed. She should of known that Karkat would try to bail right before. This wasn't happening. She clasped Karkat's hand, filing away his flattery for later on.

She pushed forward to the door, dragging him along with her. She was going to make something happen tonight, hopefully for the both of them.

* * *

Notes: Hey guys, short little intro, more coming soon! I'm taking a looooong car trip soon, so I will have plenty of time to write. Hope you all like it!


	2. Chapter 2: Short but Next will be Longer

The interior of the party was both loud and hazy with cigarette smoke, and Kanaya was seriously considering bailing and letting Karkat have his way. Unfortunately her brain was too stubborn to accommodate for the change in plans, and no matter how much she wanted to leave Kanaya would accomplish her goal.

Her goal did not account for leaving at first sight.

It did seem, however, that Karkat had been right about there being quite a few people whose company she could do without at the moment. Actually, pretty much everyone could take a few steps away from her and she'd be perfectly okay with it.

Attempting to identify someone her and Karkat knew, she began to gaze around the room. Though she had yet to place Vriska, she did end up seeing some people she knew. In fact, Kanaya was already mentally making a note not to consume anything she hadn't physically seen someone make tonight because she was pretty sure one of the boys from her old high school, Gamzee Makara, had just slipped around a corner and there was absolutely no way in hell she was taking a chance with that.

Among some unfamiliar faces she recognized Vriska's older sister, Aranea, and her sister Porrim. They seemed to be talking, bordering on some sort of argument, but Kanaya honestly wasn't surprised about that.

Not far from them, she saw Meenah, Vriska's girlfriend, whom she was almost positive had volunteered to host the party. Almost positive...At least pretty positive? After mentally scolding herself a moment for going to a party that she wasn't even sure who was in charge of, she turned around to make sure Karkat was still with her, and panicked. He wasn't anywhere in her line of sight, and she began aimlessly turning circles to try and find him until a slim hand reached out and pulled her into a small room she hadn't seen at first.

Thankfully, it was Karkat. Actually, after better analysis, it was their group of friends, Karkat, and a few other people she didn't quite recognize. He was glaring at her, but she pretended not to notice. Again. In the corner Karkat's friend John was talking to a strangely stoic boy wearing shades indoors and a girl with long black hair and a skirt covered in white…dog hair? Kanaya cringed at the fashion crime and the fact that the boy seemed to be what Karkat would instantly name a "HUGE DOUCHE." He was rather fond of the word.

Farther into the room, Sollux, Aradia, Feferi, and Eridan were sitting on a small couch watching something on an even smaller TV. That was a recipe for disaster. Kanaya made another mental note to stay away from there. At this point it was more of a list, really, and she should just call it that.

Moving on, Karkat's ex Nepeta was talking to Terezi on the floor, with cards spread out between them. Make that exes actually, she kept forgetting that Karkat and Terezi weren't a thing still. She added it to her mental list of things to remember, and kept looking around.

Equius must be in the bathroom, gauging the fact that Nepeta wasn't freaking out. They were always together.

Tavros was…actually she was pretty sure he was with Gamzee, so she'd leave that alone.

And finally…she paled. Oh no. Oh no no no. She now knew the reason why Vriska had wanted her to come so badly. The devil in question was speaking to her long-running crush, Rose Lalonde. Vriska had probably planned on attempting to get them together, but that was NOT happening.

Giving Karkat an apologetic look, she slipped out of the door before she could be noticed, and froze because oh dear lord was that Karkat's brother? And was he... socializing? Normally? It was indeed Kankri (how could she miss the giant red sweater, really what was her sister thinking) talking to a much taller boy dressed in the traditional 1960s greaser style who looked suspiciously like Eridan. Actually, it appeared they were…flirting? Wow this night could not get any more weird and unpredictable. She turned the other corner instead, walking as fast as possible, hoping to find some sort of door to get some air.

* * *

Considering she barely knew the house she was in at all, it was a horrible idea to turn a corner she hadn't already explored. Kanaya was full of those tonight, which was unusual for her.

The room she had turned into was wide open and conservatively decorated, but then again it might just have been cleared out for the party. A large medley of teenagers were dancing and talking, all spread out around the area. It seemed to mostly be older college students, but there were some kids her age around as well. As Kanaya's eyes were roaming around, she found them caught on a particular spot, mildly surprised.

She had found Equius.

He was dancing rather close to one of the girls she knew remotely well, but wasn't particularly close to, Aradia Megido. Admittedly, Kanaya was a bit confused. As far as she knew, Aradia had been dating another one of her friends, or rather Karkat's friends, Sollux Captor for quite some time now. Hadn't she just seen them practically on top of each-other back where everyone else was?

She shook her head. It wasn't her job to get into the girl's business.

Kanaya continued her search for some sort of fresh air, making her way through the twisting maze of dancing and conversation at an almost agonizingly slow pace. Some old record was playing, and she recognized the song Come On Eileen so it had to be either Dexy's Midnight Runners or some sort of mixtape. Everyone was dancing wildly and once she got to the edges of the room it was actually quite fun to watch. She stood there for a moment, watching everyone else go about here lives in the sort of carefree way Kanaya wished she possessed. Instead of being happy and exciting as it should have been, the moment was tinged with sadness, nostalgia, and a strange sort of awareness that she would long for this moment far into her future, even though she was experiencing it now.

The night was turning bad fast.

Kanaya started to feel panicked and claustrophobic, frantically scanning the room with her eyes to try and find an escape route.

Across the room there was a set of sliding glass doors, seemingly leading out to a patio. Begging for it to be empty, she ran over and exited onto a spacious balcony.

* * *

The balcony wasn't empty, but considering the person it contained it might as well have been.

She had been friends with Vriska so long, the other girl didn't feel like an intrusive presence when she was around anymore.

In all those years, she had rarely seen Vriska cry. Maybe three or four times. But that's what she was doing at the moment, and Kanaya wasn't sure how to react. In all honesty, she wasn't even sure the other girl had noticed her yet. A quiet sniffle and a shaky "Hi" told her otherwise.

As Kanaya opened her mouth to say something in reply, Vriska let out another shaky sob and slid to the floor. Below them she could hear cars whizzing by, light from the party and the street illuminated both of the girls in a strange mix of soft yellow and neon.

Everything was telling Kanaya to comfort the seemingly unstable girl, but she was still frustrated that Vriska hadn't alerted her about Rose. She did things like this a lot, behind her back, trying to "help" but always hurting her in the end. She was getting sick of Vriska's antics.

She resolved to sit beside her in silence.

If Vriska had something to say, she would say it. Kanaya didn't feel the need to cave even more towards her, to give another piece of herself away. She wasn't going to prod her to get all of her problems to spill out.

Just as expected, after a few minutes of silence in which Kanaya balanced her face between two of the iron-work bars keeping them from falling to their deaths in the road below and watched the actions of a family through a window across the street, Vriska spoke.

"I just saw Terezi."

Ah, so this is where the emotional turmoil had been stemming from. Vriska had, ever since they were kids, cared very much for Terezi. She had a hard time showing it though, and tended to be more violent and trying than caring and soft. They had experienced rather...explosive falling out a few years back when Terezi had virtually stabbed Vriska in the back after ratting her out for some trouble she had gotten herself into.

Vriska had been crushed.

The feelings she had for Terezi weren't gone, that was clear now. Kanaya felt the sudden need to remind her of Meenah, but she wasn't sure it would help much.

"Have You Gone To Talk To Meenah Yet? Sometimes That Makes You Feel Better An-"

Vriska was violently shaking her head.

"I can't. God, I would feel so guilty. I don't-I don't feel the same thing with Meenah that I do with Terezi. Meenah is great and all but...I can't. I need to forget her and I don't know how to do that."

Vaguely, Kanaya remembered exactly how she had felt when she was trying to get over Vriska, It hadn't been easy. In fact, it was one of the few things she classified in her mind as "hell." it probably wasn't a good time to bring up the Rose situation, but at the moment she wasn't feeling particularly inclined to pity the girl. Her emotions had needs too.

"Sucks To Be Around Someone You Like When They Like Someone Else Doesn't It?"

The comment was unnecessarily pointed and mildly passive-aggressive, both things Kanaya hated, but she couldn't care less. It was a frightening feeling, and seeing the confusion flash across Vriska's face was unexpectedly satisfying.

"What exactly are you getting at?"

"It Was Rather Inconsiderate Of You To Invite Rose Without Warning Me."

Vriska sighed, somehow managing to sound exasperated through all of the tears crowding her throat.

"Are you still upset about that? God, I was trying to set you up! Relax! You never chill out do you, damn"

Ouch. Kanaya winced. If there was one thing she hated was people telling her to 'loosen up,' and Vriska knew that.

"Are You Ever Considerate? Even In The Least? Jesus Christ Vriska, No Wonder Terezi Can't Stand You!"

Oh no, oh no, oh no. She shouldn't have said, it was mistake, oh no, she needed to get out she needed to get away.

Kanaya stood up abruptly, teetering too close to the edge. Vriska was saying something, yelling maybe, but she couldn't hear her. She shouldn't have done that.

As fast as she could, she ran off the balcony and inside, shutting herself behind the first door she found.

* * *

Kanaya shouldn't have run away like that.

In hindsight, she probably shouldn't have locked herself in the bathroom either, as it was inevitable someone would have to use it eventually. But honestly, who thinks straight when their crush randomly (or not so randomly, damn it Vriska) appears at a party where their goal is at least to try to make something of a romantic connection and forget for a while? If anyone even had the capability to think straight in that world of "oh hell," it wasn't her, running from her past. (and crush)

Typically she hated gay jokes, but hey, she walked herself into that one.

On top of all that, what the hell was she going to do about Vriska?! They never fought anymore, petty childhood feuds aside, they hardly fought at all. And now...now she had run away from the only person she really wanted to be around at the moment.

"Really, really bad night." She whispered it to herself quietly, probably looking the epitome of pathetic sitting in an awkward ball on the floor of a stranger's bathroom.

The mental beration continued (she did that a lot, now that she was thinking about it) until a knock on the door yanked her back to reality.

A muffled question came through with the knock, and without thinking Kanaya opened the door to hear whoever it was better. Bad idea.

Standing in front of her was Rose. She looked a bit more disheveled than she had earlier in the night, but still surprisingly put together. She gave an awkward smile to Kanaya, who instantly blurted out

"I Am Terribly Sorry, I Was..." She paused for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to tell the truth. What did she have to lose? Kanaya sighed. Not much more, at this point. Her face was probably flame red.

"Hiding, To Be Honest."

While she was mentally hitting herself hard in the face, she heard Rose give a tiny laugh.

"Well I was planning on doing the same thing, so do you mind if I join you?"

Still blushing a bit, she nodded and opened the door wider to allow Rose to enter.

* * *

OH GOD! I ACCIDENTALLY PUBLISHED THE DRAFT!

this is the official chapter..hehe *scratches neck* sorry guys

Special thanks to: Of Cherries And Blossoms

Reviews mean so much!


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